New Bill Would Prohibit Flying of Confederate Flag over Confederate Cemeteries

The debate over the Confederate flag is still raging in Washington, where elected officials are clashing over where and when it’s appropriate to display the Confederate flag.

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Michael Pope reports.

Credit Britt Reints / Creative Commons

Several amendments to the Interior Appropriations Bill up for a vote this week could potentially change what happens at three national cemeteries in Virginia: Fredericksburg, Yorktown and Poplar Grove. They would ban the flag be flown over Confederate graves and prevent anything with the Confederate flag to be sold at the gift shop. Frank Earnest at the Sons of Confederate Veterans says the efforts are misguided.

“You know to say we’re going to have a battlefield that commemorates what these brave men from both sides did but we’re not even going to allow you to buy it in the gift shop, it’s a ludicrous denial of history."

Lynetta Thompson at the Richmond NAACP says she doesn’t want to see the flag in the gift shop or flying over the cemeteries.

“I relate it to a time of lynching because when lynching was done, it was always with that flag flying, not the United States flag."

So far, Republicans have been able to thwart the amendments. But Democrats are pushing to have them be part of regular order, so they can at least be debated on the House floor.

Brian Phelps grew up outside of Richmond in the 1990s, and he says the Confederate flag was a big part of people’s lives in his community.

“Being from the Richmond area, we have a strong southern heritage—a lot of people like to call it—and I was like any kid that grew up in my area and kind of always had this ‘it's heritage not hate kind of concept.’”

But when Brian was in middle school, something changed. He says it happened when he was alone in his room, listening to a BB King CD he had bought from the cheap bin at Circuit City.

For 92 years, a statue of Robert E. Lee on horseback has dominated a small downtown park in Charlottesville. This morning, several dozen people gathered in Lee Park to show their support for a new proposal to take it down, and rename the park where it stands.

Charlottesville city councilor Wes Bellamy opened his press conference with a welcome to all in attendance. But things quickly turned tense as a small group of Confederate flag waving protesters from Richmond and elsewhere repeatedly interrupted local residents who Bellamy had invited to speak.

As Republicans prepare to gather in Cleveland for their convention, a legal challenge in Virginia threatens to upend the process. The lawsuit comes from a Northern Virginia supporter of Ted Cruz who says he should be able to vote his conscience.